This very popular blog post has been refreshed and updated for Spring 2024 (and thereafter). Photo caption: A legion (not an army, but part thereof!) of sugar ants committed mass suicide in my bottle of honey. In honour of those that might resurrect – I can see some of them will – I pooled it […] The post Sugar ants aren’t pests – they’re harmless and helpful! appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

This story was originally posted on May 9, 2013. There’s an update down below… At long last, I finally have a new front fence. I could go digging through my photographs to show you its somewhat ugly predecessor — which I built with limited resources in 2010, just to try to keep my rabbits hemmed […] The post A fence of welded wire and cedar posts appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

Well, here we are, late, late March! Are you ready to design the layout of your garden and get your seeds started? For those who have space and haven’t planted a garden before, or for those who planning it anew this year, you always start with a rough plan: what to place where, and how […] The post Resources to help you design your garden – Newly updated for 2024! appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

Vous avez peut-être remarqué qu’avec les travaux aux égouts la semaine dernière, les rats ont évacué les égouts et ont trouvé refuge dans nos cours. Veuillez retirer tout poison que vous avez utilisé pour essayer de les tuer. Il cible d’autres espèces, comme les écureuils, et je ne veux pas que nos (« mes », […] The post Just in time for World Rewilding Day, a message for the local neighbourhood appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

This year I decided to take the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s challenge and do a biological census of my front and back yards. It’s an event where you use the iNaturalist app to record as many species as you can find-and-identify in your own back (front) yard. The site to sign up and get your […] The post The Big Backyard BioBlitz is On! August 3–7, 2023 appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

I’d have updated this site BEFORE submitting the rewrite of a certain article that helps people (like you) design and market an idea. But that’s not how I do things, because I live like I want. And you might not believe me now, but the plan this week, after painting a few walls and reviewing […] The post See, if I’d done this right… appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

Sorry about my long, long absence – I haven’t blogged in so long that the interface WordPress shows me is thoroughly unfamiliar, and between this novelty and overdue maintenance, I’m distracted by the new things I see and even more ideas of things to do on this blog. In both 2019 and 2020 I had the […] The post Spring 2021: a long hiatus appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

Update on moving things around in the garden, late fall planting, which brings you to an offer of milkweed seeds The post Milkweed seed offer, to plant before the ground’s too frozen appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

How to make easy-to-install bird crash preventers for casement and higher-storey windows The post DIY: easy Acopian Bird Savers for apartment dwellers and 2nd floor windows appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more

This quick tutorial on getting your tulips ready for next season is something I first posted on BCLH’s Instagram account. Please follow me there! Did you know it helps your tulips if you dig them up in spring and replant them in the fall? Preparing tulips for a beautiful garden begins when this year’s flowers […] The post It’s summer – get your tulips ??? ready for replanting! appeared first on Big City, Little Homestead ..read more